Latin Americans show wide-spread Converso ancestry and imprint of local Native ancestry on physical appearance.

ABSTRACT: Historical records and genetic analyses indicate that Latin Americans trace their ancestry mainly to the intermixing (admixture) of Native Americans, Europeans and Sub-Saharan Africans. Using novel haplotype-based methods, here we infer sub-continental ancestry in over 6,500 Latin Americans and evaluate the impact of regional ancestry variation on physical appearance. We find that Native American ancestry components in Latin Americans correspond geographically to the present-day genetic structure of Native groups, and that sources of non-Native ancestry, and admixture timings, match documented migratory flows. We also detect South/East Mediterranean ancestry across Latin America, probably stemming mostly from the clandestine colonial migration of Christian converts of non-European origin (

SUBMITTER: Chacon-Duque JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6300600 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature